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Carper Remembered For Dedication, Quiet Service

The day after a Spartanburg County deputy was killed, his friends and colleagues are remembering him as quiet, but dedicated to his job, his family and his community.

Deputy Kevin Earle Carper, 39, was killed Tuesday night by a single gunshot to the chest in an exchange of gunfire following an attempted traffic stop. The man investigators said fired that shot was also killed in the exchange.

Sheriff Chuck Wright said that counseling is being made available to Carper's colleagues.

Those who knew Carper said the 12-year veteran of the sheriff's office was content to be behind the scenes.

"He was supportive of everything and never was concerned about being in the limelight, but was always willing to pitch in and do whatever it took," said the Rev. C.E. Kanipe of St. James United Methodist Church in Spartanburg.

Carper would have celebrated his seventh wedding anniversary on Sunday. He is a father of three daughters, one of them less than a year old.

Kanipe said Carper was especially involved in the children's programs at the church with his daughters.

"He was always carrying the little ones in his arms as he would come out of church and clearly they just loved him to death, and he loved them," Kanipe said.

Kanipe said Carper had a quiet pride about his work.

"I would say a quiet, but brave person who didn't talk about his work, he just did it because he loved his work and that was the way he served the community," Kanipe said. ?He was a true credit to the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office and to the community and it is a true loss to all of us."

Funeral Arrangements

Funeral arrangements were announced Wednesday for Carper.

Visitation will be Friday from 6-8 p.m. at Floyd's Greenlawn Chapel, 2075 East Main Street in Spartanburg.

A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. at St. James United Methodist Church in Spartanburg.

Fatal Exchange Of Gunfire

Wright said that Terry Lee Brooks shot at Carper, who returned fire. Carper died at the scene. Brooks was taken to Spartanburg Regional Medical Center, where he died. Brooks was shot three times, Wright said.

Investigators said that Brooks was driving a friend's car. Carper pulled Brooks over because the gold Saturn had expired tags on it.

When Brooks took off on foot, Carper and Deputy William Hopkins chased him. Moments later, Hopkins reported shots fired, and Carper down.

A .38-caliber pistol was recovered at the scene, Wright said.

Brooks, who lived in Inman, had prior convictions for burglary, car theft and DUI, and was currently out on bond. (To see the result of WYFF's investigation into Brooks's past, click here.)

"Deputy Carper died a hero,? Wright said at a news conference held at about 1:30 a.m. ?He died doing exactly what he loved to do. He made this office better. We're broken and we ask you to pray for his family and pray for this department."

The shooting happened just after 10 p.m. on Midway Park Drive, near Interstate 85 and Highway 129 in the Wellford area.

The sheriff?s office said that when Carper tried to make the traffic stop, Brooks got out of his vehicle and began to run.

Agents from the State Law Enforcement Division are investigating. A woman who was in Brooks' car at the time of the shooting is cooperating with investigators, Wright said. Investigators said that the woman told them that she saw Brooks with the .38-caliber weapon that was found at the scene.

The Sheriff's Office will not release the 911 tapes of the incident, at least until the conclusion of the SLED investigation into the shooting.

Fund For Family

The Police Benevolent Association has set up a fund in Carper's name. Donations can be made to the Deputy Kevin Carper Memorial Fund at any Wachovia bank in Spartanburg or through the Police Benevolent Foundation at www.scpba.org or www.pbfi.org.

Carper is the first Spartanburg County law officer killed in 45 years. Spartanburg Police Officer Thomas Fox Abrams, 42, died in January of 1962.

Abrams, who went by Fox, was shot to death during an arrest at a former nightclub on South Liberty Street.

Major Doug Horton serves as an unofficial historian with the Spartanburg Public Safety Department. He said he's responsible for finding old pictures of former chiefs on the force. In his research, he learned about Abrams and Johnson.

Horton said, "Basically, he (Abrams) went in and placed him under arrest and turned around and walked out in front of him. Whenever he turned around, Willie Lee Johnson pulled a pistol and shot him and killed him."

According to a former member on the force in Spartanburg -- and the man who arrested Johnson -- the suspect in Abrams' death never went to prison.

C.P. Sawyer said that Johnson spent 12 years in a mental hospital in Columbia

Other Upstate Officer Shooting Deaths

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